Fire and death at Ground Zero

[schwenko]

This is really tragic and bizarre!

NY Times

August 19, 2007
Ground Zero Blaze Kills 2 Firefighters
By RAY RIVERA and FERNANDA SANTOS

Two firefighters were killed Saturday battling a blaze that tore through several floors of the vacant Deutsche Bank skyscraper opposite ground zero Saturday afternoon, sending potentially toxic plumes of smoke over Lower Manhattan in a scene eerily reminiscent of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.

One of the firefighters died of cardiac arrest, a fire official said, adding that it was unclear what had caused the other death.

The fire appeared to have started between the 14th and 15th floors and spread from there to other portions of the tower, which once stood 41 stories, including scaffolding propped against its side, fire officials said. Crowds of onlookers watched as burning debris fell to the street below.

The cause of the fire was unknown. But the building, which was heavily damaged during the Sept. 11 attack, was being dismantled piece by piece because of toxic leftovers from that day nearly six years ago. Much of that work involved acetylene torches. In addition to asbestos, the building had been laden with excessive levels of seven hazardous substances, including dioxin, lead and chromium. Workers had removed about 15 stories, at 130 Liberty Street, before Saturday.

City and environmental officials reached Saturday could not immediately say whether the acrid smoke billowing over the area contained harmful contaminants, but many nearby residents remain distrustful of the air quality since the 9/11 attacks.

The fire started around 3:30 p.m., sending hundreds of firefighters, as well as city, state and federal officials to the site; at least some of these officials were wearing protective masks like those worn by doctors at a hospital.

Bonnie Bellow, a spokeswoman with the federal Environmental Protection Agency, said work was being performed at the building Saturday, as on most Saturdays. The shift ended at 3:30 p.m., right around the time the Fire Department received the first reports of a fire at the building.

Ms. Bellow said there were 12 air-quality monitors installed in and around the building. One of these monitors is on the 15th floor scaffold, two others are on the rooftops of adjacent buildings, and several others are on the ground, she said. “At this point, we’re gathering whatever results we can from these monitors,” Ms. Bellow added. “For some of the contaminants, we can get instant readings, but other contaminants require further analysis of the monitors’ readings at a laboratory.” She could not provide more specifics.

Mary Costello, a spokeswoman for Bovis Lend Lease, the construction company in charge of the building’s dismantlement, deferred all comments to the Fire Department.